Honkai Impact: I, The Herrscher of Ice, Am Loved By Players

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After an indeterminate amount of time, with a crisp sound akin to cracking eggshell, the concentrated Honkai Energy around Ana rapidly dispersed outward. Starting from Taixuan Mountain, it swiftly spread in all directions.

If this Honkai Energy fully dissipated unchecked, it would undoubtedly trigger a severe Major Honkai Eruption centered around Taixuan Mountain, similar to the Herrscher of the Void's awakening.

At this critical moment, the slumbering girl opened her eyes.

Ana extended her palm, and the dispersing Honkai Energy quickly converged back towards her hand. Ultimately, it coalesced into a dense mass, effortlessly averting the impending disaster.

Of course, there was nothing particularly unusual about this.

In the original storyline, upon becoming the Herrscher of Ice, Ana used her Authority to freeze everything around her, preventing further harm from the overflowing Honkai Energy. Now, she employed a similar method but instead gathered the escaping Honkai Energy together.

A slight frown crossed Ana's face, but suddenly, her eyes lit up.

With a swift motion, she hurled the concentrated mass of Honkai Energy into the air. Instead of dispersing, it continuously transformed amidst swirling hues of vibrant colors, gradually giving birth to a new Honkai Beast.

This creature resembled a turquoise bird, covered entirely with azure feathers. Unlike typical Honkai Beasts, it appeared not menacing but remarkably beautiful.

The Honkai Beast soared and circled in the sky, emitting crisp cries before gently descending. Although smaller than the Archon-level Honkai Beast Benares—approximately one-quarter its size—the beast's aura remained comparably powerful.

As her master, Ana bestowed upon this creature the ability to create Ideal Fluids, making it undeniably an authentic Archon-level Honkai Beast. Moreover, it promised to be even more formidable than Benares.

Ana lightly touched the forehead of the Honkai Beast, causing a turquoise glow to emanate from its body. Within the radiant light, a teal-haired maiden clad in a turquoise gown materialized before Ana, kneeling on one knee.

"Thank you, my mistress, for your guidance!"

Despite appearing as a mature young woman, her voice resonated with an authentic loli tone.

"Hmm, from now on, your name shall be Cang Luan."

Cang Luan, also known as Azure Messenger, is derived from Shenzhou mythology, serving as the emissary of Xi Wangmu (Queen Mother of the West). In reality, the historical figure behind Xi Wangmu was likely just an ordinary warrior of Shenzhou accompanied by a blue bird.

As an alternative name for the Azure Messenger, bestowing this title upon her Archon-level Honkai Beast seemed entirely fitting and quite elegant, don't you think?

"Thank you, Mistress!" exclaimed the girl with delight. With that, she leaped into the air, transforming back into a luan bird and gracefully circling low overhead, seemingly celebrating her newfound existence.

"All right, all right, let's not disturb the nearby residents," Ana gently chuckled, her voice filled with warmth as she watched the joyful Cang Luan.

Taixuan Mountain gained its renown throughout Shenzhou due to the Red Kite Immortal, and because of her esteemed reputation, numerous human villages sprouted around the area. Following the Major Honkai Eruption, more people, inspired by the legends of the Red Kite Immortal, relocated nearby.

They established Taixuan City several kilometers away from Taixuan Mountain, maintaining a respectful distance out of reverence and awe towards the Red Kite Immortal.

Now, the transformation of Taixuan Mountain naturally couldn't be hidden from the nearby residents, but it mattered little.

Regardless, ordinary people wouldn't be able to ascend Taixuan Mountain anyway. Otherwise, if Fu Hua returned from her travels across Shenzhou only to find that accessing her home now required purchasing tickets, it would indeed be quite amusing.

However, Cang Luan's appearance further intensified Taixuan City's reverence and admiration for the Red Kite Immortal.

"Let them be; I won't interfere," Ana shook her head, showing no intention of getting involved.

"Come on, Cang Luan!"

"Yes, Mistress!" Responding, Cang Luan emitted a phoenix cry and soared into the sky. Meanwhile, Ana vanished from her spot, reappearing mid-air through the power of wind manipulation.

As she gazed down at Taixuan City below, a hint of amusement flickered across Ana's face.

"Since you consider this a divine miracle, let me add a few more strokes to it!"

With a thought, Ana utilized Ideal Fluid control to manipulate the moisture within several square miles around her, gathering it together. She then condensed it into droplets, causing rainfall to descend upon the area.

Such feats were impossible for Ana when she was only partially transformed as a Herrscher. However, now with direct access to her Authorities, she could fully harness the power of a Herrscher, making this display effortless.

It's worth noting that Wendy had previously generated tornadoes sweeping across entire New Zealand, yet Ana couldn't achieve such control before. This discrepancy highlights the difference between human manipulation through cores and the inherent abilities of a Herrscher.

Even an incompletely awakened Herrscher is not something humans can easily contend with. Unfortunately, Wendy's understanding of Ideal Fluid was severely limited; otherwise, she wouldn't have been known as the disgrace among Herrschers.

"Rain follows dragons. Cang Luan, I leave it to you."

"Yes, my mistress!"

Cang Luan emitted a phoenix cry, and its form began to transform swiftly, soon taking on the appearance of an ancient Shenzhou dragon. For other Archon-level Honkai Beasts, such transformations might be challenging, but for Cang Luan, born from the Authority of Ideal Fluid, it came effortlessly. Of course, one drawback is that Cang Luan lacks the raw offensive power possessed by Bella Benares.

Lacking absolute bursts and high damage output was indeed a drawback for the Herrscher of Wind. It's not that there were no explosive capabilities at all, but compared to the Herrschers of Thunder and Flame, the violent offensive options available to the Herrscher of Wind were indeed more limited.

However, the Herrscher of Wind excelled in leveraging force against force, focusing on defensive counterattacks - essentially becoming the Amber King! (not really)

The azure dragon summoned torrential rains, though it wasn't a raging storm. Nonetheless, many residents of Taixuan City witnessed the colossal dragon soaring amidst the clouds, leading to widespread cheers and acts of reverence throughout the city.

Yet, the higher-ups of Taixuan City felt as if facing a formidable adversary.

Only those truly knowledgeable about Honkai, equipped with specialized instruments, could discern that the creature twisting among the clouds was not some mythical Shenzhou divine beast, but a genuine Archon-level Honkai Beast.

What does a fully empowered Archon-level Honkai Beast entail? Comparable to a powerful S-rank Valkyrie, it possesses a true anti-city Noble Phantasm, with even greater destructive potential than an S-rank Valkyrie when it comes to wreaking havoc.

With Taixuan City's existing defenses, attempting to confront such a colossal entity would be nothing short of delusional.

Fortunately, this Honkai Beast was merely playing amidst the clouds, causing some rainfall, without any immediate dangerous actions. Otherwise, these high-ranking officials would have fled long ago.

"Don't go overboard, Cang Luan, or those humans might resort to attacking you," Ana shook her head, watching the exuberant phoenix.

Since she had conquered the Gem of Desire and undergone Ascension, the power derived from it responded faithfully to her intentions.

Moreover, due to Ana's lack of negative emotions, the Honkai Beasts born under her influence were similarly pure-hearted and endearing, not viewing humans as enemies.

Of course, if anyone dared to attack Ana, she couldn't guarantee that Cang Luan wouldn't intervene. As her bonded Honkai Beast, its primary duty was naturally to protect its queen.

"Heh heh, don't worry, my mistress. Their toys are useless against me." Cang Luan replied while continuing to soar through the clouds. Born from Ideal Fluid, she relished such playful flights; the sky was her home.

Cang Luan joyfully circled for nearly half an hour before contentedly following Ana away.

Of course, if Ana gave the command, Cang Luan wouldn't disobey—after all, it would be her mistress's order. But how could someone as gentle as Ana issue such directives?

Version 3.3's content was equally explosive for Captains, especially with the stunning appearance of Herrscher of Wind, Ana, towards the end of the storyline.

Most importantly, instead of introducing Ana as a new character to milk players' wallets, Old Mi opted to release her as a skin for Juggernaut Moonride. This decision left Captains exclaiming that Old Mi had seemingly changed its ways.

The new skin not only featured special effects but also showcased quite a bit of skin without crossing any boundaries—a perfect dance on the edge of acceptability. It garnered overwhelmingly positive reviews.

Naturally, some Captains expressed dissatisfaction. Despite this version being marketed as the debut of the Herrscher of Reason, players found themselves thrilled using the Herrscher of Reason in gameplay, only to discover no mention of Duck within the storylines—instead, it focused entirely on Kiana and Ana.

To make matters more contentious, Ana's storyline even included a short animated segment, causing fans of other characters to feel unsettled. Was this the extent of favoritism shown by the official developers?

Regardless, due to these moves and the undeniable strength and enjoyment factor of the Herrscher of Reason, the feedback from Captains on Version 3.3 was overwhelmingly positive.

In Brother Cake's live stream:

"Wow! The Herrscher of Wind skin is absolutely stunning! My wife is smiling, smiling at me! Her feet, ahn...ahn—"

One day, as viewers entered the live stream, they were greeted with the sight of their favorite streamer going berserk.

It wasn't surprising to see Brother Cake losing his mind. Ana was undeniably stunning, yet throughout the event's storyline, her attire consistently leaned towards a gentle and modest style. Despite knowing she could have been more provocative, she maintained an air of elegance—though everyone understood it was merely a facade.

For the Captains, what they truly desired was to witness Ana let down her guard, given how familiar they had become on the ship's bridge.

Although this update didn't introduce a swimsuit outfit for Ana, it did release a tantalizing Herrscher form skin instead. The skin struck the perfect balance, revealing just enough flesh while evading the prudish censorship, and even showcased bare feet...

"Ahhhhh! Bare feet! Soft, delicate... heh heh..."

[Excuse me, have I accidentally stumbled into a stalker's live stream channel?]

[I'm not sure, but honestly, I agree that this Herrscher skin is fantastic. Plus, Old Mi isn't exploiting it for cash grabs.]

[In my opinion, making it a premium skin would've been entirely reasonable!]

[Is there a possibility this is a limited-time skin? Once this version ends, other players might not get a chance at it anymore.]

[Hiss—looks like you're right! Honkai Impact 3, activate! Gotta jump back into the main story now!]

["Wow, I'm going to tackle the main quest too now!"]

["Wahh, Old Mi really did it—I'm tearing up. For us Captains who've been with Ana all along, he specially created a limited-time free skin!"]

["So, you finished the main quest already?"]

["Nope..."]

["Then hurry up! What are you doing here?"]

["But watching Brother Cake lose his mind is quite entertaining, don't you think?"]

["+1"]

It's widely known that viewers enjoy engaging content, and seeing a streamer losing their sanity certainly provides that. Consequently, without even waiting for the next day, clips of Brother Cake's meltdown were swiftly edited and shared.

From this moment, a new Honkai Impact 3 scripture was born, as similar outbursts began appearing in various comment sections and chat groups. One can only say that certain emotions resonate deeply among people.

Most individuals might not go berserk because they believe there are still people they care about in this world. However, with the emergence of Brother Cake—a wealthy second-generation streamer of such prominence—it naturally emboldened others to follow suit.

Moreover, merely losing one's mind online doesn't count as true insanity, especially when anonymity prevails...

With that, Version 3.3 concluded, and Version 3.4, titled "Twilight Judgment," followed.

In this update, Theresa's Ascension Core for Twilight Paladin Yue Huang was introduced, while the storyline served as a consolidation and conclusion to previous arcs.

Players understood this version as transitional, signaling the approach of significant events in the next release.

Due to the Gem of Desire being in Ana's possession, the original plot had already diverged. However, Anti-Entropy still unveiled another beacon, precisely what Gray Serpent hoped to see—an artificial one.

Subsequently, Kevin obtained this beacon. After inviting both Herrschers of Reason, he utilized the beacon to exit the Sea of Quanta.

In the real world, Tianqiong City.

Ana stood atop the clouds, with Cang Luan circling around her. Together, they gazed into the distance towards Seabed City.

Cang Luan emitted resonant phoenix cries, her eyes brimming with the fervor for battle. As Ana's creation and Honkai Beast, she understood Ana's desires and intentions well. Aware of the formidable enemy she was about to face, Cang Luan felt no fear; instead, she was filled with anticipation.

Her mistress, the Ascended Herrscher of Wind, wielded two powerful Divine Keys, making her the strongest figure of this era. Similarly, Cang Luan herself was a mighty Honkai Beast. Facing the mightiest from the previous civilization, they were undeterred in spirit.

However...

It is not yet the right time, Ana silently thought as she gently stroked Cang Luan's feathers.

Indeed, it wasn't the opportune moment.

Currently, Kevin was within the Sea of Quanta, rendering it impossible for Ana to reach him. Moreover, the domain of wind would be less effective there, giving Kevin home-field advantage.

Once Kevin emerged from the Sea of Quanta, locating his whereabouts swiftly would also prove challenging.

In truth, the best window to strike had already passed, but that posed no issue.

Ana never favored taking advantage when someone was vulnerable.

She intended to confront Kevin at their peak strength, defeating him head-on!